Overseas students are to be clearly identified in official immigration figures
as part of a Government drive to keep closer tabs foreigners entering and
leaving the country.

Students from outside Europe will be “disaggregated” within overall net migration data for the first time as part of a new transparency drive.

Ministers also announced that officials will seek to “improve the quality of data” on the number of students leaving the country amid fears the existing regime fails to keep check on the number of graduates remaining after completing degrees.

The move follows claims from universities and MPs that including students in permanent migration figures was misleading and risked damaging higher education.

The Coalition has said it wants to cut net migration, which currently stands at 216,000, to the tens of thousands by 2015. Critics warn that this can only be achieved by targeting students.

Last month, London Metropolitan University became the first in the country to have its licence to sponsor foreign students revoked over visa abuses and it is feared that others could follow.

But speaking on Thursday, David Willetts, the Universities Minister, said the Government was planning to “improve the quality of data” on exiting students.

Although students will not be removed from figures altogether, it is believed that the Home Office will be required to publish two datasets – showing the number of migrants with and without student totals.

“I want to make clear the attitude of the Government. There is no limit on the number of legitimate students from overseas studying at British universities.

“They have to have the language skills and academic training to benefit from higher education here. It is in everyone's best interests to maintain our high standards.

“The vast majority of international students are here legitimately, study hard, contribute to our economy and take nothing from us except a world-class education."

Last week, MPs on the cross-party Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee said the Government's attempts to reduce immigration by cutting student visas were threatening the higher education sector.

It called for students to be taken out of calculations of net migration – the number settling in Britain each year minus those who move abroad.

Speaking afterwards, Mr Willetts said officials would now seek to “disaggregate the headline totals for net migration so that people can see the student element within that”.

“We are not removing students from the totals,” he said. “We are improving the quality of data on students leaving the country.”

He also said officials would “improve the quality of the data on students leaving the country”.

Mr Willetts said that the public sees “someone coming to study for a time and then going back home as different from someone permanently coming to Britain as a migrant”.

But critics branded the announcement a “fudge”.

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the Universities and Colleges Union, said: “It appears the Government is finally recognising the damage its student visa policy, coupled with threatening to deport thousands of fee-paying overseas students, is doing to our international reputation.

“However, today’s fudge will not solve that problem. Simply providing a mechanism to count overseas students does not remove them from net migration figures.”

"Better information is vital for a more informed debate. It is important, however, that students remain in the government’s net migration target. If they stay on they add to our population growth like anyone else."